Air Canada - Risk Management Net Present Value (NPV) / MBA Resources

Introduction to Net Present Value (NPV) - What is Net Present Value (NPV) ? How it impacts financial decisions regarding project management?

NPV solution for Air Canada - Risk Management case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Air Canada - Risk Management case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by David Wood, Craig Dunbar. The Air Canada - Risk Management (referred as “Risk Air” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Finance & Accounting. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Financial management, International business, Operations management, Risk management.

The net present value (NPV) of an investment proposal is the present value of the proposal’s net cash flows less the proposal’s initial cash outflow. If a project’s NPV is greater than or equal to zero, the project should be accepted.

NPV = Present Value of Future Cash Flows LESS Project’s Initial Investment

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Case Description of Air Canada - Risk Management Case Study

The chief executive officer (CEO) of Air Canada was reviewing the company's risk management program with the intent to suggest changes to the policy. Risk management was a topic all corporate boards were dedicating time to since the financial collapse of 2008, and boards had come to realize that hard questions needed to be asked about the source of risk, how it was disclosed, how it was to be accounted for and how it was managed. The CEO knew that he needed to consider the impact of his view of the economy, interest rates, exchange rates and the commodity markets on how aggressive Air Canada should be with its appropriate hedges. He decided to start by identifying the most relevant sources of external risk that could materially affect Air Canada's short and long-term financial performance. He then wanted to understand how these risks were managed today and how they compared to West Jet, their main competitor. Finally, he wanted to determine what changes should be made to either eliminate the source of risk or better manage any significant risks that remained.

Case Authors : David Wood, Craig Dunbar

Topic : Finance & Accounting

Related Areas : Financial management, International business, Operations management, Risk management

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Air Canada - Risk Management Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10005287)	-10005287	-	-
Year 1	3459962	-6545325	3459962	0.9434	3264115
Year 2	3954333	-2590992	7414295	0.89	3519342
Year 3	3966098	1375106	11380393	0.8396	3330012
Year 4	3231024	4606130	14611417	0.7921	2559274
TOTAL			14611417		12672743

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2667456

In isolation the NPV number doesn't mean much but put in right context then it is one of the best method to evaluate project returns. In this article we will cover -

Different methods of capital budgeting

What is NPV & Formula of NPV,
How it is calculated,
How to use NPV number for project evaluation, and
Scenario Planning given risks and management priorities.

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Capital Budgeting Approaches

Methods of Capital Budgeting

There are four types of capital budgeting techniques that are widely used in the corporate world –

1. Internal Rate of Return
2. Profitability Index
3. Payback Period
4. Net Present Value

Apart from the Payback period method which is an additive method, rest of the methods are based on Discounted Cash Flow technique. Even though cash flow can be calculated based on the nature of the project, for the simplicity of the article we are assuming that all the expected cash flows are realized at the end of the year.

Discounted Cash Flow approaches provide a more objective basis for evaluating and selecting investment projects. They take into consideration both –

1. Magnitude of both incoming and outgoing cash flows – Projects can be capital intensive, time intensive, or both. Risk Air shareholders have preference for diversified projects investment rather than prospective high income from a single capital intensive project.
2. Timing of the expected cash flows – stockholders of Risk Air have higher preference for cash returns over 4-5 years rather than 10-15 years given the nature of the volatility in the industry.

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of Air Canada - Risk Management

NPV = Net Cash In Flowt1 / (1+r)t1 + Net Cash In Flowt2 / (1+r)t2 + … Net Cash In Flowtn / (1+r)tn
Less Net Cash Out Flowt0 / (1+r)t0

Where t = time period, in this case year 1, year 2 and so on.
r = discount rate or return that could be earned using other safe proposition such as fixed deposit or treasury bond rate. Net Cash In Flow – What the firm will get each year.
Net Cash Out Flow – What the firm needs to invest initially in the project.

Step 1 – Understand the nature of the project and calculate cash flow for each year.
Step 2 – Discount those cash flow based on the discount rate.
Step 3 – Add all the discounted cash flow.
Step 4 – Selection of the project

Why Finance & Accounting Managers need to know Financial Tools such as Net Present Value (NPV)?

In our daily workplace we often come across people and colleagues who are just focused on their core competency and targets they have to deliver. For example marketing managers at Risk Air often design programs whose objective is to drive brand awareness and customer reach. But how that 30 point increase in brand awareness or 10 point increase in customer touch points will result into shareholders’ value is not specified.

To overcome such scenarios managers at Risk Air needs to not only know the financial aspect of project management but also needs to have tools to integrate them into part of the project development and monitoring plan.

Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 15%

After working through various assumptions we reached a conclusion that risk is far higher than 6%. In a reasonably stable industry with weak competition - 15% discount rate can be a good benchmark.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 15 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10005287)	-10005287	-	-
Year 1	3459962	-6545325	3459962	0.8696	3008663
Year 2	3954333	-2590992	7414295	0.7561	2990044
Year 3	3966098	1375106	11380393	0.6575	2607774
Year 4	3231024	4606130	14611417	0.5718	1847348
TOTAL					10453829

The Net NPV after 4 years is 448542

(10453829 - 10005287 )

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 20%

If the risk component is high in the industry then we should go for a higher hurdle rate / discount rate of 20%.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 20 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10005287)	-10005287	-	-
Year 1	3459962	-6545325	3459962	0.8333	2883302
Year 2	3954333	-2590992	7414295	0.6944	2746065
Year 3	3966098	1375106	11380393	0.5787	2295196
Year 4	3231024	4606130	14611417	0.4823	1558171
TOTAL					9482733

The Net NPV after 4 years is -522554

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9482733 - 10005287 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Risk Air to discount cash flow at lower discount rates such as 15%.

Acceptance Criteria of a Project based on NPV

Simplest Approach – If the investment project of Risk Air has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Risk Air can ACCEPT the project, otherwise they can reject the project. This means that project will deliver higher returns over the period of time than any alternate investment strategy.

In theory if the required rate of return or discount rate is chosen correctly by finance managers at Risk Air, then the stock price of the Risk Air should change by same amount of the NPV. In real world we know that share price also reflects various other factors that can be related to both macro and micro environment.

In the same vein – accepting the project with zero NPV should result in stagnant share price. Finance managers use discount rates as a measure of risk components in the project execution process.

Sensitivity Analysis

Project selection is often a far more complex decision than just choosing it based on the NPV number. Finance managers at Risk Air should conduct a sensitivity analysis to better understand not only the inherent risk of the projects but also how those risks can be either factored in or mitigated during the project execution. Sensitivity analysis helps in –

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

What will be a multi year spillover effect of various taxation regulations.

What are the key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

What are the uncertainties surrounding the project Initial Cash Outlay (ICO’s). ICO’s often have several different components such as land, machinery, building, and other equipment.

Some of the assumptions while using the Discounted Cash Flow Methods –

Projects are assumed to be Mutually Exclusive – This is seldom the came in modern day giant organizations where projects are often inter-related and rejecting a project solely based on NPV can result in sunk cost from a related project.

Independent projects have independent cash flows – As explained in the marketing project – though the project may look independent but in reality it is not as the brand awareness project can be closely associated with the spending on sales promotions and product specific advertising.

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Negotiation Strategy of Air Canada - Risk Management

References & Further Readings

David Wood, Craig Dunbar (2018), "Air Canada - Risk Management Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.